For inmates,few rays of hope at Asha Kiran

In December,12 deaths were reported here — three of them within 24 hours.

The inquiry report by the Social Welfare Department (a copy of which is with Newsline) under which the centre works,concludes that death is not new for Asha Kiran.

Over the last four years,128 inmates have died in the home. The complex,built for 350 people,now houses 730.

“The mentally retarded inmates suffer from multiple deficiencies as far as physical health is concerned. Because of this,particularly in respect of severely retarded inmates,life expectancy is relatively low,” reads the report filed by Director,Social Welfare,S A Awardi. According to the report,60 per cent of inmates are in the “category of severely or profoundly mentally retarded persons.” Many inmates do not even survive a year. There is no segregation of people who have infectious diseases like tuberculosis.

The inmates are taken care of by ‘house aunties’. The staff reveals that each of them sometimes take care of over 40 people. They are paid Rs 3,934 per month for 8-hour daily job — which probably explains why a majority of the caregivers quit within days of joining.

“The inmates feed each other and give each other a bath,” said a sweeper working in the male ward. “There’s too much noise and it is not easy to work.”

The report states: “Many gave up their jobs after serving for a very short period. It is mentioned that providing every care like a mother to mentally retarded persons is really difficult.”

Constant medical care is available. But the staff say the doctors merely prescribe medicines without even closely examining the inmates.

Despite the fact that the walls of the complex are nearly 10-feet tall and the high gates are guarded 24-hours,the officials have even reported cases of children going missing. On December 24,the Social Welfare Department advertised in newspapers about two inmates. One of them,Raju,was 16 years old and 4.8 ft tall. He was admitted on 21 May and has been missing since 16 September. More bizarre was the case of the 7-year-old boy admitted in December 2006. The child was merely 3.6 ft tall.

December deaths

Dec 2: Krishna (16),living here since 2007. Post mortem report awaited

Dec 9: Anu (20),had been staying since 2006. Cause of death tuberculosis and epileptic fit

Dec 12: Ranveer Kumar (48),was admitted at Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital,Mangolpuri,since 16 November following dehydration and swelling in legs

Dec 14: Manjeet (55) was admitted at the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital,suffered from swelling of body

Dec 15: Raj Kumar (42) admitted in Sanjay Gandhi Hospital since 12 December. Had swelling of body,difficulty in breathing

Dec 18: Seeta Gauri (19),living here since 1989. Cause of death cardio-pulmonary arrest

Dec 19: Sandeep,was under treatment since Nov 29 at Sanjay Gandhi Hospital,was referred to LNJP. Cause of death Meningoencephalitis with refractory shock

Dec 25: Soni,living here since in 2007,died due to seizure disorder

Dec 27: Meena Payal (38),living here since 1999,postmortem report awaited

Dec 29: Angoori (19),living here since August 200,was suffering from asthma and TB

Dec 29: Sangeeta (21),had been living here since 1996. Body discovered several hours after death,was a victim of bone tuberculosis

Dec 30: Deepti (12) had been here since March 2009,cause of death epilepsy